WASL

Frequently Asked Questions about the WASL

maureen — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:57:17 -0600

Partnership for Learning has created a number of materials to help diverse audiences understand the history, purpose and framework of assessments in Washington State. This brochure answers the most common questions about the WASL.

New WASL and AYP Results Announced

maureen — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:03:17 -0500

WASL Results Show Gains and Plateaus
WASL Results by Subject Area
More Wash. Schools Miss AYP Targets
Changes to State Assessment Set for Next Year

WASL Results Show Gains and Plateaus

As predicted by state officials, results were mixed from the spring 2009 administration of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). Scores in grades 3-8 and 10 mirrored 2008 results, increasing in seven subject areas, decreasing in seven and remaining unchanged in six.

In spring 2009, more than 500,000 Washington students in grades 3-8 and 10 took the WASL. Those scores are used to measure progress on AYP (adequate yearly progress), the accountability arm of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Although results were mixed in the seven grades tested, it is worth noting that significant gains have been made in writing during the past 10 years, when 10th graders were first tested in the subject: When the state first tested writing in 1999, just 41 percent of all 10th graders passed. This year, 86 percent of all 10th graders passed.

Some of the statewide results over the seven tested grades were encouraging as sixth-grade reading scores increased by 3.4 percent and eighth-grade science scores increased by 3.2 percent. At the same time, seventh-grade reading scores decreased by 3.5 percent and 10th grade math scores decreased by 4.1 percent.

For the class of 2010, 86.5 percent of incoming 12th graders (those who have remained in school and are on track to graduate) have passed the reading and writing exams. Nearly 60 percent of the class passed the math WASL. However, those students who do not pass a state math assessment can meet the graduation requirement by earning two credits of math after 10th grade. The state does not track credits earned.

Nearly 75 percent of incoming 11th graders have met the reading and writing standards.

The assessment figures for those two classes are comparable to the classes of 2008 and 2009, the first two required to meet the reading and writing assessment graduation requirements.

WASL Results by Subject Area

To view more WASL results, please visit the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction's (OSPI) report card website.

More Wash. Schools Miss AYP Targets

In 2009, 1,285 schools did not make AYP (adequate yearly progress). Of that total, 1,073 are in one of five steps of improvement. For districts, 209 did not make AYP and 103 are in one of two steps of improvement. Of the 505 schools in Step 1 of improvement this year, 274 missed AYP in math and 243 missed in only one category.

By contrast, 1,268 schools (and 209 districts) did not make AYP and 618 schools (and 57 districts) were in improvement in 2008.

The term AYP comes from the federal requirement that all schools and districts will have a specific – and growing – percentage of students passing the state’s reading and math tests each year. All states are required to have a goal that all students in all schools pass the reading and math tests by 2014. Schools and districts that do not meet AYP goals for two consecutive years move into “improvement” status and, if they receive federal Title I funds, face an escalating series of consequences each year they do not make AYP.

To learn more about AYP visit OSPI's Elementary and Secondary Education Act website.

Changes to State Assessment Set for Next Year

The 2008-09 school year was the last for the WASL—but not for statewide assessment. Beginning this school year, the WASL will be replaced by two new tests: the grades 3-8 Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) and the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE).

Despite the change in tests, the graduation requirements associated with high school state testing remain the same. Also, schools can volunteer to participate in online testing next spring in grades 6-8 in reading and math.

Next spring, about 25 percent of students statewide in grades 6-8 are expected to participate in voluntary online testing. In spring 2011, fifth graders will participate in online testing in reading, math and science. Eighth graders will also begin to test in science that year. By spring 2012, fourth graders will move to online testing in reading and math.

To learn more about changes to assessment in Washington, visit OSPI’s Assessment website.

What State Assessment Can Do (as it turns out, a lot)

maureen — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:44:44 -0500

This morning I participated on a panel for the release of a report from the Center on Education Policy (CEP) on the effects the WASL has had on teaching and instruction in Washington. While everyone agrees that we can’t “assess” our way to boosting the achievement of every student, it turns out that the implementation of the WASL has improved students' skills—particularly in reasoning and writing.

How you ask? CEP has the answers. Based on their study—entitled “Lessons from the Classroom Level”—of six schools in six Washington districts, interviews with school administrators, teachers, students, and parents, and formal classroom observations, CEP found that:

The state standards and tests have had a significant impact on curriculum.
The testing format of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning has encouraged teachers to emphasize student reasoning and writing skills and has helped students improve these skills, in the view of study participants.
The nature of the WASL appears not to have stifled teachers from being creative in their instruction.
Several districts and schools offer additional courses or interventions for students who have failed or are at risk of failing state tests.
Many teachers and administrators suggested improving the WASL rather than eliminating it.
Teachers and administrators also proposed changes to NCLB and related state accountability requirements.
School administrators, staff, students, and parents were confused about the future of the WASL as a graduation requirement and the impact of standards.

The last point rings particularly true for our state right now. CEP began their study before the November 2008 election and the announcement of Supt. Dorn’s plans to replace the WASL, which tossed researchers quite a curveball in terms of how the WASL is viewed by students, teachers and parents.

Parents and students have long been confused about the nature of state assessments as a graduation requirement, as well as the standards behind the tests. And while Supt. Dorn’s plans to replace the WASL may address the concerns of many voters, mass confusion about requirements remains.

CEP offered little in the way of suggestions to address this problem, but I ultimately found their findings encouraging in light of the incredible work those in Washington’s education system have done to make sure students are appropriately assessed and instruction is tailored to ensure students meet state standards. To close, I'll leave you with the words of one Washington teacher:

[B]efore I was designing my curriculum based on
what I felt the kids needed to know. And now, I have
someone else not dictating to me, but justifying what
I’m teaching in a way. So I’m not alone. This is what
the state department of education has determined that
the kids need to know . . . And so I feel more confident
that I’m giving the kids what they need.

And isn’t that the point?

You can read CEP’s report, “Lessons from the Classroom Level: Federal and State Accountability in Washington State,” at their website.

Delay math and science graduation requirements, again? We don’t think so.

maureen — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:59:55 -0500

Supt. Dorn’s plans to request a delay of the state’s math and science assessment graduation requirements met opposition from multiple papers over the weekend. For nice takes on the issue, check out the two editorials below.

Tacoma News Tribune: No more delays for math requirement
The Daily News: Time to stop waffling on WASL requirements

Or don’t take their word for it, ask State Board Chair Mary Jean Ryan:

"It is frustrating and it is very disappointing to keep talking about delay," Ryan told the Seattle Times.
Every time the state has delayed the new high school graduation requirements, progress on improving instruction has slowed, she said. Any plan to delay the graduation requirements should be coupled with a plan for accelerating progress, she added.

WASL Replacement Plans Move Forward

maureen — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:26:15 -0500

Curious about how Supt. Dorn's plans to replace the WASL are shaping up? Me too. For the most up-to-date thinking on Washington's assessment transitition--including shortened responses and soon-to-be online testing--check out today's release from OSPI.

But, in case there was any confusion on the status of graduation requirements:

"Replacing the WASL, however, does not eliminate the state high school graduation requirements, which, among other requirements, call for high school students to pass the reading and writing state exams and to either pass the math test or earn two credits of math after 10th grade. Students can also meet the assessment requirement by passing other state-approved alternatives."

At least that's settled.

Awesome Principal Alert!

maureen — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:43:00 -0500

And right in my own backyard. Ballard High School Principal Phil Brockman has won an award that will bring $50,000 to his school.

Brockman is the recipient of the Alliance for Education’s Thomas B. Foster Award for Excellence, which recognizes one Seattle Public Schools secondary school principal every year for outstanding leadership. In Brockman’s case, his fantastic work boosting student WASL achievement.

From 2005 to 2008, the number of 10th-graders passing the WASL's reading section at Ballard High improved from 77 percent to 88 percent. Writing jumped from 67 percent to 95 percent. In math, 53 percent of 10th-graders passed in 2005 and 65 percent passed in 2008. And science scores rose from 44 percent to 53 percent.

Brockman, who was given a surprise award presentation last Thursday morning, has been the principal at Ballard High since 2004, according to the Seattle P-I. He was West Seattle High School's principal from 2000 to 2004, and has been with Seattle Public Schools for 26 years.

Congrats to Brockman and his outstanding team!

Massachusetts does what Washington can only dream

maureen — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:07:17 -0500

And I’m not talking about winning sports teams. Well, maybe a little bit, but I digress.

In case you missed it last week, Massachusetts education leaders announced a plan to inject a reality check this fall into the "good class vs. bad class" debate by tracking the performance of individual students as they advance from one grade to the next. The new measurement could shed light on who is falling short -- teacher or pupil -- and lead to fundamental changes in the way students are taught.

According to the Boston Globe:
Under the current system, the state judges a school's success by comparing its MCAS scores at each particular grade level to the scores posted by that grade the year before. The English and math MCAS tests are given in grades 3 through 8 and in grade 10. (Just like Washington)
Using the new tool, the state will augment that analysis by examining the performance of individual students or classes of students over the period of several years, starting in the third-grade. (Not at all like Washington)

Why is this a good idea? Let us count the ways. Tracking individual student performance over time:

Leads to earlier interventions for students who appear to be lagging behind;
Allows the state to monitor the growth of students from similar socioeconomic backgrounds;
Helps education leaders identify schools making huge leaps in student performance, even if a certain school is performing below the state average; and
Reports on whether or not a student is truly on track to reaching proficiency by predicting future scores.

While we’ve played around the edges of this sort assessment reform in Washington, we simply haven’t gotten our acts together—wow, guess the sports metaphor really does work—to create system which delivers this kind of invaluable information. One hopes that as OSPI explores how best to improve Washington’s assessment system, they’ll consider the incredible potential systems like Massachusetts is creating, hold for our state’s students and teachers.

OSPI Releases Plan for Washington Assessment: WCAP

laura — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:25:23 -0600

Change is coming to Washington education assessment. Last week, OSPI released a “webinar”—a power point and mp3 file narrated by Assessment Supt. Joe Willhoft—that states Supt. Randy Dorn’s Top 5 budget and policy priorities. And you guessed it: replacing the WASL made the list. So, what is the future of assessment in Washington?

Well, it’s called the Washington Comprehensive Assessment Program (WCAP) and listed below are the six goals, according to OSPI.

1. Shorten the tests
2. Reduce the amount of time students spend on written responses
3. Return scores more quickly
4. Increase the use of technology
5. Provide more diagnostic information to teachers/parents
6. Minimize costs

The webinar provides citizens and educators with a timeline showing implementation of the new system that includes measuring students’ progress in grades 3-8, and high school proficiency exams too. Students are tested in reading, writing, math and science. The statewide goal for testing is set to begin in 2011-2012.

Also detailed, are the new math and science standards showing performance expectations arranged by course. It’s somewhat easy to read. And before the 20-slide webinar concludes with a “thank you for your support,” issues that may arise with the new testing, such as translation, are very briefly addressed. Check back frequently for further updates on Washington assessment.

Promising Education News from the Washington Legislature

larry — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:15:40 -0600

Promising Education News from the Washington Legislature
Basic Education Finance Bills and Reform: What Might the Impact be for Teachers?
Maintaining High school Assessments Critical to Students' Future
A Conversation with Superintendent Randy Dorn

Promising Education News from the Washington Legislature

There has been some encouraging legislative news in education over the past few weeks. Last Monday, the Senate Education Committee amended two bills that were of significant concern to us. The first, Senate Bill 5260, previously included language that called for eliminating the WASL as a requirement for high school graduation. That section was struck from the bill. The second bill, Senate Bill 5498, previously included language that delayed implementation of the math and science requirements slated for 2013. The amended version keeps math and science as scheduled.

Clearly, it's still early, with two-thirds of the session left to go and two weeks until the first cut-off, anything can happen. However, at the Partnership, we are increasingly encouraged that our concerns regarding implementation of the graduation requirements are being taken seriously by key legislators and that the governor continues to be a very helpful advocate on these issues.

Basic Education Finance Bills and Reform: What Might the Impact be on Teachers?

Although the Basic Education Finance bills (Senate Bill 5444 and House Bill 1410) proposed by the Basic Education Task Force (BETF) are large and complex, they represent an incredible opportunity for education reform by providing funding for the State Board of Education’s CORE 24 proposal and rewarding teachers for boosting student achievement. The bills have, however, raised many questions on the effects they will have on Washington teachers. Thankfully, BETF Member Sen. Fred Jarrett has put together a list of frequently asked questions about the bills to help citizens and teachers better understand the potential impact of the proposal.

Q. Does this bill make the state one big school district?
A. No. It makes the accounting system, implementation and results transparent for local voters while still allowing individual school districts to allocate resources to best accommodate local conditions.

Q. Are you taking away any part of teachers' pay?
A. We don't propose to take pay. We intend for the state to pay the TRI pay currently funded by local levies and increase compensation to competitive levels in the labor markets the teacher teaches in. (TRI pay is compensation in addition to the state's salary schedule, paid from local levies, for "time, responsibility and incentive.")

Q. Does the bill take away TRI pay?
A. No. The BETF proposal does not eliminate TRI pay.

In the BETF proposal, TRI pay is "bought back" by the state and becomes a part of the state salary apportionment. We eliminate "R" and "I", leaving only "T." When we looked at the data around TRI pay, what we learned was that it correlated very closely to cost of living or housing costs. That suggested to us that the local bargaining process had correctly forced local districts to adjust the flat state apportionment for salaries to a more reasonable level for the districts based on local economic conditions. So, in fact, local levies are inappropriately funding basic education.

Q. What is the proposed evaluation system?
A. The movement from student to resident and from resident to professional would be based on a rich peer evaluation. Individual teacher compensation increases significantly when teachers receive certification through peer evaluations. Peer evaluations would involve multiple measures of performance, including in-class visits and reviews of lesson plans, student work, and possibly video of actual teaching. The Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) would oversee this system.

The PESB and the colleges of education have expressed concerns about some of the elements of 5444 and we are working with them to correct deficiencies and improve the career ladder. Our intent is to build on the work they are doing, not drive off in a different direction.

Q. Will this bill require accomplished teachers with advanced degrees to go through National Board Certification in order to attain the highest salary?
A. Experienced teachers with investments in education and degrees will continue to be paid under the current system unless they choose to migrate to the new system. The proposal suggested a ten year period for dual compensation, but that's an arbitrary number. We do not expect that there will be a disadvantage for teachers in the old system, though the additional compensation for the National Board Certification may provide motivation to make the change.

To find out more, read State Board of Education Chair Mary Jean Ryan's editorial on the basic education bills in the Seattle Times, view a comparison of the two sets of basic education proposals by the League or Education Voters, and learn about the issues surrounding Washington education finance through Funding Washington Schools.

Maintaining High School Assessments Critical to Students' Future

Despite the promising efforts mentioned earlier by the legislature to defend Washington’s assessment system, there remain two proposals that would eliminate or delay high school assessments as a graduation requirement for Washington students.

Although House Bill 1341 is intended to create savings that could be used to “motivate students to pursue postsecondary education,” the bill would eliminate the high school assessment as a graduation requirement. And, though in 2007, the legislature delayed the implementation of the math and science high school assessment as a graduation requirement until the class of 2013, HB 1646 would further delay the requirement to the class of 2014 and potentially further out—if decided by the State Board of Education.

Both proposals send the message to students that the state isn’t serious about making sure they master the skills needed to succeed in college, work and life.

Year after year, more and more students are succeeding and passing the high school assessments. Last year, 93 percent of graduating seniors met the requirement, and the number one reason for seniors not graduating on time was a lack of necessary credits--not the high school assessment. Our state has made the commitment to Washington students that attaining a high school diploma means they are ready to meet the challenges that lie ahead—be it in a job, apprenticeship training or college classroom. Eliminating the high school assessment or delaying the math and science assessments as a graduation requirement would renege on this commitment and weaken Washington’s promise to provide a meaningful diploma to its students.

A Conversation with Superintendent Randy Dorn

A Community Lunch

In November, voters elected Randy Dorn for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. How does Dorn see his leadership style and how has he been approaching the transition from 12-year Superintendent Terry Bergeson? Can we expect new directives and funding coming from the other Washington to help? And how does he plan to make sure we have the global education to match Washington's global economy? To answer these questions and yours, join us as we meet the new Superintendent!

Date: Thurs. Feb. 26, 2009
Time: noon to 1:30 p.m.
Location: Washington Athletic Club, Seattle, WA
To RSVP visit: City Club's website.

Dorn’s WASL Proposals Raise Eyebrows

Caroline — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:31:33 -0600

People are starting to ask good, hard questions about Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn’s proposals to replace the WASL. Yesterday’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial, which warns that “taxpayers, employers and parents should watch for a crash that seriously injures educational quality,” raises a few of the same questions we’re having:

On Dorn’s proposal to delay math and science test-based graduation requirements:
“Substantively, we don't understand Dorn's idea that we need another delay in a state math test for high school graduation, to 2014. And he projects the baffling ambiguity of a 20th century high school principal about whether he even wants science testing for 21st century students to graduate high school.”

On the ability of a shorter test to provide meaningful diagnostic information to teachers:
“We like the sound of Dorn's plan to shorten testing and provide better diagnostic tools on where students need extra help. But common sense suggests that it is easier to get good feedback on students' performance with more test questions, not fewer.”

On Dorn’s “authority” to implement changes:
“Dorn needs to work carefully with not just the Legislature, but also the State Board of Education and Gov. Chris Gregoire.”

(Note: This is not just sage public relations advice. State law requires OSPI to consult with the State Board of Education around any changes to the assessment system; lawmakers have the ability to review any changes, not to mention, they control the purse strings; the Governor holds veto power; and the US Department of Education reviews state tests to ensure they comply with the testing requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act.)

We welcome efforts to improve our state assessment system. We just need to make sure that change equals improvement, resulting in better opportunities and outcomes for every student.

As this conversation evolves, Washington state would be wise to take heed of other states who are already moving ahead to develop common standards and assessments that prepare all students to be ready for the demands of college and work, and to be counted among the world’s best and the brightest. (Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World-Class Education and Achieve’s America Diploma Project.)

For more information, read the complete P-I editorial.